The permutation of so-called devops that works best for me (and successful start-ups IMHO) is where the developers are also management(being the owner is the cherry on top), of course it only really works in a software company...

You'd be amazed at how much more accountable(function) non-devops managers are when they know then can't pass the buck the developers(threaten outsourcing, etc.). Think Bill, Woz, Sergey & Larry etc...

The story of how the IEX came to be is a compelling one, and considering the inertia behind it, it would seem that most exchanges would be well advised to consider implementing an analogous system; even if it only ends up being a short term solution...

I would point out that technically Apple doesn't make PC's any more either(and perhaps never did), they are Intel(PC) boxes running a bsdSkin(OSX) rather than Windows. They only thing that differentiates them from, say, Dell, is that they adopt closed standards and have vertical branding(but certainly not vertical integration)...

...and that they develop their own OS for them (yes, the lower levels are based on Mach and BSD code, but it's not as if they just take off-the-shelf Mach and BSD code and slap a thin GUI skin over it).

I do concede that OSX so more than just a skin, perhaps comparing it to Metro/ModernUI sitting on top of the NT Kernel might be a better comparison......just kidding. It's more like Gnome/KDE/Android/Chrome sitting on each's respective flavour of UNIX.:)

Ultimately I think UNIX is a solid core for any OS, and that if Microsoft hadn't dropped their flavour, we wouldn't have had to endure the growing pains of 95/XP/Vista. But that's another story.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, Intel/IBM/Motorola(the three companies that have supplied them with chips) are essentially the only "PC" makers in the world, and are still going strong.

Neither IBM nor Motorola make processor chips used in any significant personal computers these days (unless you have your own personal IBM Power System, IBM System z, or IBM BlueGene supercomputer:-)), so neither of them are "PC makers" any more.

Yes ok(and not really), but my point is that the chip is the computer, and that each generation of Apple(Moto/IBM/Intel) has had "Less Apple", this current, Intel, and the next, ARM, are little more than reference designs, configured to fit in the box...

XBOX360/PS3/Wii/WiiU/WiiU2 all contain PowerPC chips, many Tablets/Phones/ChromeBooks?/etc. contain Moto chips; the line of distinction of what a PC is these days has blurred, but they all have their roots in the PC concept...

And since the vast majority of Apples business is those other non-PC devices...

Also until this new Lenovo deal goes through, IBM still make Intel workstations too...

Perhaps the line from the Apple guy should have been, "While you can't run software from any previous generation(or our next) of our PC's, well still sell you something called that.". I know I'm being cynical, but hey the original story/line was from a PR guy...

I would point out that technically Apple doesn't make PC's any more either(and perhaps never did), they are Intel(PC) boxes running a bsdSkin(OSX) rather than Windows.
They only thing that differentiates them from, say, Dell, is that they adopt closed standards and have vertical branding(but certainly not vertical integration)...

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, Intel/IBM/Motorola(the three company's that have supplied them with chips) are essentially the only "PC" makers in the world, and are still going strong.
Apple and almost every other brand just make the boxes containing the said company components.

Yeah, I suppose it's the price of computers being mass market consumer devices.

At least they are significantly cheaper these days(laptops), but I do also feel that they all cater to consumers that don't know what's good(i.e. average screen rez is lower these days than 5 years ago)... It's all about churn not innovation.

If you haven't seen the new Fujitsu Lifebook UH90 4k laptops(also HP and one other I think), I suggest you Google it. They are very impressive.

As someone who had the honor of meeting Ray, I say, he will be missed.

At the time of meeting him I was a nubie to the effects industry, one that he was instrumental in developing, yet he was as fascinated and inspired with our modern processes as we where by his. His insight, creative vision and pioneering sprite transcended time, and I value every word of advice that he bestowed upon me.

His works(seminal) will ensure that he continues to inspire, an immortal of our modern age.

...I imagine a black hole to be so massive not even light can escape its gravitational pull. Which technically means the escape velocity is the speed of light. So anything at the event horizon should be at the speed of light....

Also consider that at the event horizon, space-time itself is travelling at the speed of light towards the black hole.

So when the medium light is travelling through is travelling at the speed of light, light can't escape; i.e. the event horizon...
Think swimming upstream when the current is faster than you can swim; the steepness of the hill has little consequence.

Having said that, I'm also not a physicist, but I also came that same conclusion...

Not in the long term, Nanofabrication and eventually sub-atomic-fabrication, will let us literally re-build lead into gold, all ya need is the right amount of electrons, protons and neutrons to feed into the machine. My point is, there will be a point where the evolution of "3d-Printing", will destabilise the basic premise of economics, haves and have-nots...

But yes I was eluding to the fact that eventually currency will go totally virtual, if there is even a need for money by then; Atomic fabrication has the potential to eliminate poverty and free the world from the devastating effects of global industrialisation, if we let it....